Metro Manila’s council of mayors will convene on Tuesday to come up with a recommendation on what the region’s alert level will be in the first two weeks of March, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said on Monday.

“I don’t want to preempt, pero asahan po ng ating mga kababayan na iyan po ay ibabase ng mga mayor sa datos po na araw-araw naman po nari-receive namin from DOH (Department of Health), IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force), NTF (National Task Force Against Covid-19) at ganundin iyong kanilang experience sa ground,” MMDA officer in charge Romando Artes said in a in a “Laging Handa” briefing,

Artes said the mayors would take into consideration each city’s risk classification, healthcare utilization rate and the number of cases in the region.

Metro Manila is under Alert Level 2 until Feb. 28. It has 20,416 active Covid-19 cases as of Feb. 21.

Its occupancy rate stands at 23.2 percent as of Feb. 21.

Placing Metro Manila under Alert Level 1 would entail eased restrictions on mobility, including intrazonal and interzonal travel to all regardless of age and co-morbidities.

Also under Alert Level 1, all establishments, persons, or activities, are allowed to operate, work, or be undertaken at full on-site capacity provided public health standards are still followed.

Face-to-face classes for basic education will be subject to prior approval of the Office of the President. John Ezekiel J. Hirro